i'm howard kurtz. join us next sunday morning for another critical look at the media.on" with candy crowley begins right now.

i'm howard kurtz. join ust

i'm howard kurtz, and this is the christmas day edition of "reliable sources." >>> it's been a better year for scandal. some sleazy, some superficial, all devoured by the media. perhaps the most chilling came from the world of sports. first at penn state, then at syracuse university with popular coaches accused of horrendous acts. >> in retrospect, i -- you know, i shouldn't have showered with these kids. >> what's it? >> yeah, well, that's what hits me the most. >> are you a pedophile? >> no. >> another major scandal involved a global media corporation, the one run by rupert murdoch with a slew of top executives arrested in a massive phone hacking operation. >> did you close the paper down because of the criminality? >> yes, we felt ashamed at what had happened and wanted to bring it to a close. >> and there were the inevitable political sex scandals. one topping a congressman, one exposing the dark side of a french politician, still another forcing a candidate out of the presidential race. >> is there a picture out there was you in your drawers that you are worried about? >> i think

i'm howard kurtz. join us again next sunday morning 11:00 a.m.n for another critical look at the media. "state of the union" with joe johns sitting in for candy crowley, begins right now.

i'm howard kurtz, and this is "reliable sources." >>> it was only last monday when wolf bill clintoner was interviewing herman cain on "the situation room," and cnbc producers saw on wirt that the fox affiliate was about to broadcast an interview with a woman who claimed to be the candidate's mistress. blitzer asked cain during the commercial whether he would address the explosive allegations, and he did, even though her account had not yet aired. >> you say friend, i'm asking -- these are awkward questions, but i'll ask you the questions you're going to be asked. was this an affair? >> no, it was not. >> there was no sex? >> no. >> none? >> no. >> and if this woman says there is, she's lying, is that what you're -- >> wolf, let's see what the story's going to be. >> next up, atlanta station waga broadcast the sit down with ginger white. >> it wasn't complicated. and i was aware that he was married, and i was aware that i was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship. >> and yesterday, cain kept scolding the news business as he pulled the plug on his improbable candidacy

i'm howard kurtz, and this is "reliable sources." >>> when it comes to newt gingrich's surging presidential campaign, the journals have been something sly over the past week or so. news outlets carry stories about how republican leaders, even white house officials, are reassessing newt's candidacy and agreeing, hey, he might win the nomination. who they are saying is that media mavens have been backing off premature obituaries and taking newt gingrich seriously even as they argue over whether he's presidential timber. >> why does a guy with a i do bicycle gr-- i dobollic grin, i being serious here, why is the nasty guy doing the best of all the candidates now? the one who's obviously nasty? >> the new republican front return newt gingrich is soaring in the polls, not because republicans love newt. who could? it's not because they love him. it's because they just hate mitt. >> he is not a nice human being. he's a bad person had it comes to demonizing opponents. >> newt's trying to do something good. what you have here, these are snipers. these are political hit squads. these are asassins tha

i'm howard kurtz. join us next sunday morning 11:00 a.m. eastern for another critical look at the media. down load our program as a podcast on itunes. "state of the union" with candy crowley begins right now. >>> the campaign trail. en fuego. the words are sharp and time is short. today, all in in iowa. a conversation with rick santorum. >>> then, going negative on newt. we talk to romney surrogate john sununu and gingrich supporter bob walker. >>> debates, presidential politics, and an unpopular congress with anita dunn and tom davis. >>> and the future of the mailman with postmaster general patrick donahue. >>> i'm candy crowley and this is "state of the union." >>> there was a boxing match here in washington last night, but the real punches were thrown in des moines. >> let's be candid. the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> the last thing bibbyi netanyu needs to have is not just a person who is an historian but also someone who is running for president of the united states stand up

earlier this graer, for example, the media writer howard kurtz reported in "newsweek" magazine that "three weeks after dropping out of the race tim pawlenty showed up to ask for a gig at fox but there was a complication. mr. pawlenty was on the verge of endorsing mitt romney. "i'm not sure i want to sign you as a paid spokesman for romney, ales said." another example after this week's contentious interview with mitt romney with bret baaer, mr. baaier did something relatively unusual for a straightshooting interviewer like he is. he went on another fox news show to spill the beans on how mitt romney had behaved behind the scenes of that interview. >> he was irritated by the interview after we were done. >> how do you know he was irritated? did he slap you or what did he do? >> well, he just made it clear at the end of the interview. we had a little -- >> well, tell me how he made it clear. what did he do? did he say something to you? >> and he said he thought it was overly aggressive. >> he did? he said that to you? he thought it was overly aggressive? >> he did. >> wow. >> and as we w

i'm howard kurtz. join us next sunday morning for another critical look at the media. "state of the union" with candy crowley begins right now. >>> numbers that rocked the week. 8.6%. 25%. and minus one. today, the republican dynamic minus cain with candidates ron paul and michele bachmann. >>> payroll taxes and republican politics with former presidential candidate john mccain. >>> and the reality and politics of a drop in unemployment with alice rivlin, douglas holtz-eakin and ron brownstein. >>> i'm candy crowley. and this is "state of the union." >>> the iowa caucuses are curious things, places where a guy named "jimmy who" began his journey to become president carter. places where inevitable winners like hillary clinton and howard dean lost. places where somebody could rewrite the story that this republican race has come down to mitt versus newt. somebody like ron paul. >> newt gingrich has been on both sides of a long list of issues. sometimes in the same week. >> it's wrong to go around and adopt radically different positions. because then people have to ask the

meanwhile, howard kurtz writes for "the daily beast," it's not over yet. he suggests romney's a plausible president in these tough times and his campaign is financed for the long haul. maybe so. but remember, romney already lost this race once. he's the same guy voters rejected for the job four years ago. kurtz says he needs to demonstrate real passion. and he probably ought to stop making $10,000 bets too. here's the question. what does mitt romney have to do to recapture his front-runner status? you go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, or go to our post on the situation room's facebook page. wolf? >> you know what could surprise a lot of people in iowa, jack? >> what? >> ron paul. he's got a fabulous organization, passionate supporters, some money, he could surprise a lot of folks in iowa. we're going to be speaking with him tomorrow here in the "situation room." but don't be surprised if ron paul does a lot better than people are thinking he might do in iowa. we're talking about iowa. >> i think he'll do well in iowa. i don't think he's going to be the nominee,

. >> this is howard kurtz, defense attorney.ere's what he thought about the murder case against his client, brad cooper. >> you need actual evidence to convict. and actual evidence is something that they did not have. >> no physical evidence, said the defense attorneys, to tie brad to nancy's murder and the awful seens scenes from the cooper marriage the jury heard, no witness for either side had ever seen brad physically violent toward nanny. as for the $300 a week allowance, there was a reason the defense argued. remember, the couple had serious debt. and the defense offered contrasting scenes of the cooper marriage from another set of friends. ? people who knew the couple for years did not jump on this bandwagon to paint this as an abusive relationship. >> remember the i hate brad day? the day the prosecution said the marriage hit its boiling point? on that very day nancy was making plans for saturday night. the day she disappeared. >> she wanted my husband and i to come over and play sequence with her and brad. >> was that a